Former AEW Star Spotted at Recent TNA Tapings

Shawn Spears was at the recent TNA tapings in Orlando.

By Haley Miller

At the end of 2023 Shawn Spears announced that he would be departing AEW on January 1. Spears had inked a contract with the company in 2019 shortly after leaving WWE, debuting at the inaugural Double or Nothing pay-per-view. With AEW now heading into its fifth year, more and more contracts are set to expire which means wrestlers will continue to hit the free agent market.

AEW co-founder Cody Rhodes was the first star to take a leap in 2022 after his contract had long expired and he was said to be working without one in his final matches. Other AEW originals like Joey Janela and Marko Stunt also quietly departed when their contracts expired. For Spears, two of his biggest storylines in AEW came when he turned on his long-time friend in Rhodes that kicked off a blood-feud between the two. In 2021 he joined the MJF-led stable The Pinnacle which dominated AEW for quite some time until its disbandment roughly a year later. 

With the release, Spears is officially back on the free agent market with the likes of Kazuchika Okada, Mercedes Moné, Mustafa Ali, Shelton Benjamin and others. While he hasn't made a decision on his wrestling future, he has been popping up elsewhere. Fightful Select is reporting that Spears, who lives in Orlando, was at this past weekend's set of TNA tapings. At those tapings, it appeared Trinity was set to finish up with the company. The report states that although Spears was there visiting, he was spotted talking to TNA President Scott D'Amore for a bit during the show. Spears wasn't the only free agent there that was spotted talking to higher ups as Former WWE Superstars Mace and Mansoor as well as NJPW regular Alex Zayne were doing much of the same.

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After IMPACT officially announced its rebrand back to TNA, several top stars in the company finished up, including Deonna Purrazzo (now in AEW), Sami Callahan, and Trinity who is reportedly on her way back to WWE. Despite that, several of the WWE releases from September have since debuted or appeared for TNA, including Ash By Elegance (Dana Brooke), Nic Nemeth (Dolph Ziggler), Top Dolla, and the Grizzled Young Vets. Although it's unclear where Spears may end up next, he and his wife Cassie Lee (former WWE superstar Peyton Royce) revealed on social media at the end of December that they are set to welcome their second child in 2024. 

Stay tuned to Comicbook.com for updates on Shawn Spears' wrestling future.

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